fridAY 04 280 september, 2026 epaper.morningstandard.in WEEKLY FLIGHTS CURRENTLY OPERATED BY FLY91 facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard Copyright Varthaman employer orders 40 Aircraft US govt sides with OpenAI in NYT case FLY91, which recently welcomed former Air Force Group Captain Abhinandan Varthaman as pilot on Thursday ordered 40 new ATR 72-600 aircraft The Trump administration sided with OpenAI in a lawsuit brought by the New York Times, defending training AI models on copyrighted works $1 bn order one of largest for atr planes A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS Page 9 l New Delhi l J8.00 l It is the single-largest order for ATR turboprop planes by a regional carrier globally, valued at $1 billion. “The landmark order for 40 aircraft will provide the scale to build a much larger regional network and connect more unserved and underserved cities across the country,” the airline said in a release. PAGES 12 10-year plan to Law grads out of Bar Council’s ambit, says SC strengthen def diplomacy, arms trade footprint SUCHITRA KALYAN MOHANTY @ New Delhi In a major setback to the Bar Council of India, the Supreme Court on Thursday said taking disciplinary action against law students was beyond the statutory body’s remit. The court quashed two BCI notifications to bar the enrolment of NALSAR University graduates and seeking a probe against the students and faculty for their campaign against J a v a r i a R a n a @ New Delhi India on Thursday unveiled its first consolidated public blueprint for defence diplomacy , with defence minister Rajnath Singh releasing the ‘RAKSHA’ framework, a 10-year roadmap aimed at expanding military partnerships, defence capacity building, indigenous manufacturing, arms exports and maritime security The framework rests on four pillars: . strategic partnerships, capacity building, indigenous defence manufacturing and exports, and maritime security. The defence ministry said it “marks a shift in India’s strategic engagement”, linking national security objectives with greater international defence cooperation. The document sets a “10-year roadmap to strengthen global security partnerships” and seeks to “position India as a key defence manufacturing hub”, as India looks to leverage its expanding domestic defence industry to build deeper strategic relationships and increase exports. Defence exports reached an all-time high of `38,424 crore last year, rising 62.66% from `23,622 crore in the previous financial year. Defence public sector undertakings accounted for 54.84% of exports and private companies for 45.16%. Exports by DPSUs rose 151% year-on-year, while private-sector exports increased 14%. India now exports defence equipment to more than 80 countries and has set a target of `50,000 crore in annual defence exports by 2029. The maritime-security pillar focuses on strengthening India’s role as a “Net Security Provider and First Responder” in the Indian Ocean Region. It builds on the Navy’s sustained operational presence in the region, including mission-based deployments, antipiracy operations, humanitarian assistance and disaster-relief missions. Capacity building, meanwhile, covers military training, exchanges, institutional cooperation and assistance to partner countries, particularly in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). Army Chief Gen Dhiraj Seth, Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh, Secretary (Defence Production) Sanjeev Kumar, MEA Secretary (East) Rudrendra Tandon, Vice Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, Vice Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral Ajay Kochhar and Chief of Integrated Defence Staff Air Marshal Tejinder Singh were among those present at the launch. the Chief Justice of India, saying they were bad in law. This was despite BCI Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra withdrawing them within hours of their issuance. The bench said it is the institution’s job to take action against students. The BCI has no power over them till they enrol as advocates. “We are of the opinion that the Advocates Act, 1961, where under the BCI has been statutorily created, does not confer The controversy had erupted on August 13 after the BCI directed State Bar Councils not to enrol NALSAR’s 2026 grads as advocates until further orders following allegations of a campaign against CJI Kant’s proposed visit to the university any express or implied power upon the BCI or any State Bar Council to take any disciplinary action against the students of law. Such a power is preceded by registration of a law graduate as an advocate under the said Act. So far as students are concerned, it is their parent institution or the authority prescribed under the regulations/ byelaws of such institution which alone are competent to take discipli- nary action,” the bench said in its order. Senior Advocate K Parameshwar, for NALSAR alumni Mihira Sood and Abhishek Tiwari, raised the question of accountability. BCI Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra, however, requested that the matter be closed. The court, in its order, said: “We declare all communications dt. 13 Aug or subsequent modified to be without any authority of law. Interim directions made absolute.” ‘No coercive action on Gymkhana Club for now’ u d aya n k i s h o r e @ New Delhi Defence minister Rajnath Singh releasing the RAKSHA document on defence diplomacy | PTI As defence diplomacy is a core pillar of India’s foreign policy, this document provides a clear, actionable vision for the next decade, ensuring that India remains an anchor of peace, stability, and rulebased order in an evolving global landscape Defence ministry Strategic ties The new framework focuses on strategic partnerships, capacity building, indigenous manufacturing, exports and maritime security Express read Working on 3-language policy advice: Centre to SC The Centre informed the Supreme Court on Thursday that it was working on its suggestions on implementation of the CBSE’s policy mandating the study of three languages, including two native Indian languages, for Class IX students. Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati told a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana that CBSE is in the process of working out various modalities and sought time. The SC took note of it. | P7 States partner for air quality measures in NCR The Centre is coordinating with Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh to implement measures to curb air pollution in the DelhiNCR ahead of the October pollution season. State action plans include curbs on stubble burning, construction, demolition and vehicular emissions, besides campaigns to encourage behavioural change. Union environment minister Bhupendra Yadav said a meeting at the Union minister level would be held in September to assess progress. | P3 Centre’s assurance to HC in estate officer’s notice The Centre on Thursday assured the Delhi High Court that it would not take any coercive action for now against Delhi Gymkhana Club over its eviction from the 27.3-acre premises on Safdarjung Road. The assurance came during the hearing of pleas by club member Vijay Khurana and others seeking a stay on the June 29 eviction notice issued by an Estate Officer of the Land and Development Office (L&DO). The matter was heard by Justice Avneesh Jhingan. “We will not take any action in a coercive manner. The (earlier) statement continues. We The Central government’s assurance to the Delhi High Court came during the hearing of pleas by a club member and others seeking a stay on the June 29 eviction notice issued by an Estate Officer of the Land and Development Office. will not take any coercive action (till the next date),” Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma, appearing for the government, told the HC. Sharma urged the authority to consider whether it should proceed with the notice while the question of its jurisdiction remains pending. The HC recorded the Centre’s submission and fixed the mat- Kenya’s mining ministry to suspend mining operations. IN a setback for Tata Chemi- Later, in a separate order, the cals, Kenyan President Wil- company was asked to halt liam Ruto said on Thursday soda ash exports. that he has directed the firm In a statement, the company to cease operations in the said, “TCML has provided a country saying its presence at comprehensive response to , Lake Magadi in Kajiado Coun- the matters raised by the minty did not benefit his istry including infor, country . mation regarding its He said his governcompliance with apment would bring in plicable regulatory new investors to take requirements. We over the site. Ruto await the ministry’s said any new invesreview of our subtor for the resources missions and further around Lake Magadi direction.” should establish both TCML has been a glass processing That Tata company mining natural soda plant and a chemical had that contract ash from the trona for 100 years. They processing facility de posits at Lake have not built locally before being Magadi since 1911 anything in allowed to operate. and is Africa’s largKajiado... Are we He said the Tata est soda ash producslaves to other people? firm was asked to er. The Magadi operleave because it had ation represents one William Ruto, been exporting raw of the key manufacKenyan president soda ash rather than turing hubs for Tata processing it Chemicals globally . domestically . When contacted, Tata The announcement esca- Chemicals said: “We respect lates an ongoing dispute that the authority of the Governbegan weeks ago. In an earlier ment of Kenya and remain regulatory disclosure to stock committed to constructive enexchanges, Tata Chemicals gagement through the approsaid its subsidiary Tata Chem- priate legal and regulatory icals Magadi Ltd (TCML) re- channels to resolve the outceived a notice on July 28 from standing matters.” Action taken so far RBI has been absorbing the excess liquidity, having already announced VRRR auctions totalling `53.5 lakh crore between August 6 and September 2 to manage the liquidity surplus, said Aditi Gupta, economist at Bank of Baroda They suggested a combination of liquidity-management tools, including VRRR (variable rate reverse repo) auctions, raising the cash reserve ratio (CRR), Oil right Jaishankar says India’s autonomy must be respected During a visit to Kyiv on Thursday, EAM S Jaishankar said the Russia-Ukraine conflict could not be ended by pressuring countries over purchases of Russian oil | P7 DIPAK MONDAL @ New Delhi After $ deluge, RBI fights excess liquidity B ENN KOCHU V EEDAN @ Mumbai ter for further hearing on September 16. Justice Jhingan directed the club members to file their reply before the estate officer. The judge said before deciding on interim relief, he wanted the estate officer to first consider the jurisdiction issue. “What I am intending to do is that before I proceed with it (the interim relief), let him (estate officer) visit this issue... Whether he should proceed, whether he can proceed, whatsoever comes out of it, we are still here,” the judge said. Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Khurana, said the chances of the estate officer ruling in favour of the club members were low. He said any response filed before the officer should be without prejudice to the members’ case before the HC. The pleas filed by Khurana and the Delhi Gymkhana Club Ltd Staff Welfare Association are part of a pending lawsuit arising from the L&DO’s May 22 order terminating the club’s lease deed and directing it to return the land by June 5. ‘Are we slaves?’ Kenya prez orders exit of Tata Chem’s Magadi unit Dollar deposits the exceptionally high dollar haul of $137.34 billion through Reserve Bank of India’s special dollar-rupee forex swap facility has created a problem of plenty for the banking system, which is now loaded with `10 lakh crore of excess liquidity . Analysts say RBI needs to drain the surplus liquidity before it puts downward pressure on short-term interest rates or creates inflationary pressures. The August 13 mess and deploying the Market Stabilisation Scheme and Open Market Operation sales. Aditi Gupta, economist at Bank of Baroda, said system liquidity moved from a surplus of `1.6 lakh crore initially to `6.7 lakh crore by August-end and further to `9.7 lakh crore as of September 2. Radhika Rao, senior economist at DBS Bank, suggested a temporary CRR hike. Upasna Bhardwaj, chief economist at Kotak Mahindra Bank, said Cash Management Bills and Treasury bills could be more effective tools. RBI can also conduct sell-buy forex swaps, she added. Captain courageous Nepal’s first female helicopter Captain Priya Adhikari during relief & rescue operations in flood-hit Rasuwa on Thursday. She has reportedly flown around 100 rescue sorties in less than a week | PTI AICC approves Revanth’s move to sack minister I r e d dy S r i n i vas R e d dy @ Hyderabad Ending two weeks of political uncertainty surrounding Telangana’s Endowments Minister Konda Surekha, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) on Thursday cleared her removal from the state cabinet. After consultations with senior Congress leaders, including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, the AICC approved the decision and a formal recommendation was sent to the Lok Bhavan later in the day . A controversy had began on August 19, when Surekha’s daughter Sushmita made allegations against Reddy and his brother on the eve of Surekha’s birthday celebrations. A note from the Chief Minister’s Office said Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy had decided to drop Surekha from the Council of Ministers with immediate effect and had sent a recommendation to the governor. The chief minister also removed G Chinna Reddy as vicechairman of the Telangana Planning Board and appointed Gadwal Vijayalakshmi in his place. This and other appointments give key positions to Backward Classes women leaders in the state. 2 NDMC staff killed after motorbike hit by Thar in Delhi Cantonment area n i t i n r a w at @ New Delhi Two NDMC employees were killed after a Mahindra Thar SUV hit their motorcycle in the Delhi Cantonment area on Wednesday evening, police said on Thursday . The Delhi Cantonment police station was informed about the accident near IOC Red Light around 5 pm. Police found two people injured after their motorcycle was hit from behind by the SUV. The two were taken to a hospital, where they were declared brought dead. “The motorcycle had slipped on the road and the SUV which was behind it, collided with it,” a , senior police officer said. The deceased were identified as Sukhbir Singh and Anju, both aged around 45-50 years. They worked with NDMC at Lodhi Road and were returning to their home in Dwarka. Police registered a case under Sections 281 (rash driving or riding on a public way) and 106(a) (causing death by negligence) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The SUV driver, Bhupendra, 26, from Jhajjar, Haryana, was arrested. He owns a milk booth in Rohini. Sukhbir’s brother Chhote Lal said he learnt about the accident from a call from home. “I called the police station and told them that an accident had occurred. I then went to the police station along with my nephew, where we were informed that they had died and that their bodies had been sent to DDU Hospital,” he said. He said Sukhbir had suffered severe injuries to the left side of her face and that the family was told a Thar had hit their motorcycle. “They were returning home from work and usually travelled home together,” he said. On way back home The deceased have been identified as Sukhbir Singh and Anju, both aged around 45-50 years. They worked with NDMC at Lodhi Road and were returning home in Dwarka. Rohit, Anju’s son, said, “I came to know about the accident at around 5.30 pm. I was told that the accident happened when the bike was taking a U-turn and a Thar car hit it.”